Business & Economy

Book Review of Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy, and Life Choices

Mark Sampson

Victor V. Claar and Robin J. Klay are concerned that much
Christian reflection on economics is uninformed by basic economic principles
and theory. This, they argue, leads to unhelpful policy recommendations that
contradict basic economic concerns. As a response to this, the two authors have
written Economics in Christian
Perspective: Theory, Policy and Life Choices (InterVarsity Press, 2007).
They approach a variety of issues by outlining the relevant economic facts,
giving an overview of the mainstream economic options, and then offering a
Christian perspective.

The authors offer a rigorous defence of the free-market on
both economic and Christian grounds. They argue that unrestricted markets
direct resources, including labour and capital, to where they can be optimally
used. Markets foster creativity and innovation, rectify consumption problems,
create jobs and generally benefit all who participate in them. Central to the
authors’ argument is the claim that “By themselves, markets do not produce
either virtue or depravity” (p. 45). They are simply the product of millions of
individual choices. It is those choices that form the moral content of society.
This is where “strong religious and cultural institutions” become significant.
They cultivate the virtue in society that is then expressed in choices, which
the market simply makes possible. However, the authors step beyond the standard
defence of the “neutrality” of the market by arguing that markets are “one way
in which God’s providence works to sustain and bless humankind” (p. 47). In
attempting to make the “invisible hand” more visible by announcing its owner,
Claar and Klay have essentially baptized capitalism.

Having outlined their theoretical stance, the authors then
approach a number of issues such as the role of government, natural resources,
globalization, income disparity, and macroeconomics. There is an almost utopian
strain in the authors’ arguments about how the free-market can benefit the
world. They contend that, “By the time oil becomes so scarce that no one can
afford it, no one will want to buy it anyway because we will soon be
discovering better, cheaper, cleaner technologies…” (p. 98). Regarding global
poverty, they argue, “the only practical way out of poverty includes more
globalization not less” (p. 144). This is because “[m]arkets are often
providentially used to accomplish what no amount of Christian charity or
political activism alone can achieve” (p. 161).

The book’s main strength lies in the ability of the authors
to explain mainstream economic theory in a way that is immediately accessible
to all. However, their conclusions are continually hampered by the absence of
theological analysis of mainstream economic theory and practice. The authors
continually assert that the good of capitalism is that it builds an economic
system based on individual freedom of choice. This is an unquestioned good in
this book, yet theologically it is deeply problematic. The centrality of “choice”
must be questioned. Consider the authors’ claim, “The plain truth is that no
nation can achieve material, cultural and moral greatness unless it offers
extensive freedom of choice to workers, consumers, producers and voters” (p.
35). The philosophical foundation for this claim, which is the central claim of
capitalism, is located firmly in a utilitarian ethic. The “moral good” that is
choice lies in the utilitarian claim that rational individuals will always
choose for pleasure and against pain. Therefore, the moral responsibility for
economists and politicians is to give individuals as much choice as possible.
This results in the fundamental assumption of neo-classical economics: humans
are rational individuals seeking to maximize pleasure. It is certainly not a
coincidence that in a society dominated by the logic of capitalism, the
Christian virtues of koinonia, caritas, and agape seem noticeably absent.

Claar and Klay seek to provide a Christian apologia for the
free market. This is undermined by the enlightenment-based assumption that
economics is a value-free science. As the foundations of the enlightenment
crumble in academic discourse, there is the realization that all claims are
value-laden, including those of mainstream economic theory. It is
methodologically problematic to begin with mainstream economic theory and later
attach Christian principles and values. Christian reflection on economics must
unashamedly begin with theological convictions and then work from there. Under
that rubric, it certainly is possible to argue for some sort of market economy,
though perhaps it is more difficult to argue for a capitalist one.